Are Your Resting At All?
I had a nap today in the car--no, I wasn't driving--but my plans to go to bed early have been foiled by the fun of having my college-aged daughter home for a few days. Maybe tonight? Or will that tempting new essay on justice keep me typing away into the wee hours? Perhaps. In the Relentless Self-Promotion Department--I have a brief piece in this week's Publishers Weekly. It's called Galley Talk and is about Wayne Caldwell's upcoming sequel to "Cataloochee". The new one is "Requiem by Fire" and is due out in March. In the same department, a new book on women and magic is out today. Edited by Brandy Williams, it's called "Women's Voices in Magic" and is

Monster Food Drive: Filling Up the Cornucopia
I love cornucopias--those freaky curvy conical things that are featured in decorations this time of year. The beautiful Horn of Plenty. Mother Grove Goddess Temple's food pantry is called the Mother's Cornucopia Project. For several years, we've done an informal food pantry, shepherded by my dear friend Nessa McNelly. She has stored and distributed the donated items on behalf of CERES and the Temple. Nessa is one of those amazing women that all communities should have--if someone is in need, she and her family will do everything to help. Folks in need are drawn to her kindness and generosity. But now we're creating a more formalized structure because all indica

Art & Apocalypse
One of our favorite holiday activities is watching big, over-the-top disaster movies. We like to plug in "Independence Day" while cooking up a big dinner or "Dante's Peak" and "The Day After Tomorrow" when chilling after a busy day of visiting relatives. How could we resist "2012"? You are correct--we could not. We saw it in a matinee today. It is the perfect combination of schlock--bratty spoiled kids, shifting tectonic plates, junk science, volcanoes, tsunamis, snow, pyroclastic flows. It was great. Noble president dude, vast global conspiracy, adorable Buddhists. As always, not enough women. As always, the women are visual candy, not real characters

Pink Tree--Have I No Shame?
or respect for the sacred traditions of Christmas? Apparently not. One of the things I do is the display windows at the bookstore. On "Black Friday:--not a big day in ye old independent bookstore--we always try to get the holiday decorating done. We refuse to do it before Thanksgiving because we're stubborn about stuff like that. So, today was the day. We try to do something different every year but last year I scored a pink, lighted tree and knew it would have to come out again this year. Coming out--yeah, kind of like that. So, we put this sweet retro look in the Children's window--pink tree, pink books, pale green lace. It is so bright and swe

Taking My Own Advice
I'm having a little downtime this week. As the Year winds down to its conclusion, nature is taking her own rest time, as we've discussed here and elsewhere. I am doing some lightweight planning for the Solstice ritual, doing a bit of freelance writing and wondering what my work schedule will be. But mostly I'm hanging out with my daughter, who is home for Thanksgiving. What are you doing this week? Traveling? Cooking? Reading and taking naps? Are you thinking about the things for which you are grateful? Yep, me, too. I am also thinking about what I have been harvesting all year. So, here's an idea for all of us. With the problematic nature of the whole P